In response to a commission from the Nieuw Ensemble Amsterdam the composer immediately thought
of writing a work related to pantomime. In the imaginary theatre of cosmigimmicks plucked
instruments (guitar mandolin and harp) play the main roles while the other instruments
(prepared piano violin trumpet and percussion) disguise themselves in order to join in a play
of masques and mimicry. Pantomime stems from a time in which humans did not yet speak and ever
since it has appeared in a great variety of forms. Asian traditions of mime tend to be
extremely formalised and highly complex but in Europe the art of pantomime which was often
frowned upon by church and ruling bodies maintained a strong undercurrent in the history of
theatre since the Ancient Greeks. Chin remarks that in cosmigimmicks she was reluctant to map
the history of the pantomime and instead chose to concentrate on three scenes that are
important for her: Shadow Play which is related to shadow puppetry Quad inspired by Samuel
Beckett's two homonymous TV plays (which are in fact 'geometrical pantomimes') and Thall a
homage to György Ligeti. This title is the Korean for 'masque' the overall character of Thall
is both slightly sentimental and macabre describing the psyche of a torn person. cosmigimmicks
is a major addition to 21st-century ensemble repertoire from one the leading composers of her
generation.Instrumentation:trumpet percussion mandoline guitar harp prepared piano violin